Marshall, MN -- Southwest Minnesota State
director of athletics Chris Hmielewski has announced that two
candidates will be brought on campus as finalists for the head
wrestling coach position.
The finalists are Jesse Nelson, current interim head coach at SMSU, and Donald Tabar,
head wrestling coach at Shippensburg (Pa.) University. Nelson
will interview on Thursday, Feb. 21 while Tabar will be on campus on
Friday, Feb. 22.
Jesse Nelson, Interim Head Coach, Southwest Minnesota State University
Jesse Nelson was named interim head coach at SMSU in August of 2007
after John Sterner resigned in July following nine seasons as head
coach.
Prior to coming to SMSU, Nelson spent five seasons at Ridgewater
College, serving as head coach from the 2002-03 season through the
2006-07 season. During his tenure, his teams finished in the top five
nationally all five seasons, including a junior college national
championship in 2005, second place in 2004, third place in 2003 and a
fourth place finish in 2007.
A five-time Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year,
Nelson coached 13 All-Americas, had four national finalists and one
national champion. He was also named NJCAA Region XII Coach of
the Year in both 2003 and 2004.
A native of St. James, Minn., Nelson is a graduate of St Cloud State
University where he spent one season on the wrestling squad.
Prior to SCSU, Nelson was a two-year letterwinner at Ridgewater College
where he was a two-time national qualifier (1995 & 1996) and team
captain in 1996. He also played football at Ridgewater serving as
team captain and earning all-conference honors.
Prior to taking over at Ridgewater, Nelson served as head coach at
Greenbush-Middle River High School during the 2001-02 season where he
had five place winners and two state champions.
Donald Tabar, Head Coach, Shippensburg (Pa.) University Donald Tabar
has been the head coach at Shippensburg University since July
2001. Now in his seventh season at SU, he has coached 14
All-Americas, one national champion, while leading four of his teams to
top 15 finishes at the NCAA Division II level, including a third-place
finish in 2006. Following the 2005-06 season, Tabar was named the
National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Previous to being named head coach at Shippensburg, Tabar was a
volunteer assistant at SU for six years (1995-2001), and has also
served as a high school coach at several high schools in Florida,
Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Tabar is a 1998 graduate of Shippensburg University with a
bachelor¹s degree in education while earning his master¹s
degree in educational administration from Shipensburg in 2002.